Low-temperature cooking apparatus.



C. B. TRESCOTT. LOW TEMPERATURE COOKENG APPARATUS.

APPLICATION nun maz 22.19xs.

1,214,393. Patented Jan, 30, 1917.

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LOW-TEMPERATURE COOKING APPARATUS.

To all whom it may concern;

Be itknown that I','CHARLES B. Tnasco'rr, a citizen ofthe United States,residing at Chicago in the count of Cook and State f Illinois, haveinvente a new and useful Improvement in Low-Temperature CookingApparatus, of which the following is a 'The primary object of myinvention is to rovide a construction of cooking apparatus adapted forthe practice of a process for low-temperature cooking described in myco'pending application for LettersPatent, Serial No. 105,316, filed June22, 1916, and involving the spraying of hot water into a chambercontaining the material 'to be cooked to heat the air in the chamber tothe temperature for the low-temperature cooking purpose and saturatethat air with water to serve as a vehicle for carrying the heat- Theaccompanying drawing illustrates the vcooking apparatus in a preferredform of embodiment of my invention, by a view maticin character.

A series of two similar cookers, 1 and 2, is

shown in the drawing," though the number inafter more fully ex chamber-3, on ,liigs, 1e

may be only one or more than two, as herelained. The cooker illustratedis "a dou leawalled sheet-iron tween the walls (1 with insulatingmaterial 4. Aperforate metal shelf 5 s provided. in the lower part ofthe chamber for supporting the matter'to be cookedfsueh as hams,indicated at6; and the chamber has a hinged door 7 and a depending opendischarge=spoiit 8 for leading 05 surplus water, as to a sewer. A ta kor holder 9 for water to be heated in its passage therethrough ranch andsprayed into the cooking-chamber, has a pi -connection 10 at its upperend with the top of thechamber 1 at its center, through the medium of adepending branch 11 terminating in aspraying head 12 inside the chamber.'Where two or more of the cookers are used in series, as indicated,th e

ipe '10 forms a header, from which a 11, terminating in a spraying head12, extends into each chamber, as shown and described of-the cooker 1;and shut-ofi valves,

indicated at 18, should then be provided in the header h tween thesuccessive cookers,

Specification. of Letters Patent.

lbs,

and has the space be- 1s equipped with anor inary diaphra eratedvalve'device, indicated at 25, to e cona ber of the valve-devicePatented Jan. so, 1917.

I Application filed Junc22,1916. semine oaarr.

For .feeding the tank continuously with water to be heated in its"course therethrough, the tank communicates from near its lower .endthrough. a pipe 14, with a force-pump, which takes cold or relativelycool water through'a pi e16 from a suitable source of supply not shown).The pump 15 is driven by a steam-en 'ne 17 of any suitable type, Whiehissupp ied with l ve steam from a high-pressure source (not shown) througha conduit 18 leading vto a .pressurereducing valve 19 having apipe-connection 20 with the engine .for actuating the latter by thereduced pressure for driving the water-pump. For thepresent purpose, thepressure at which water is pumped into the holder 9 need not exceed abcat 35 lbs, and by reducing the steampressure from thesupply-source,through:

the medium of the valve-device 19, to about at a pressure of about 35'lbs., as above suging-head12 into the upper-end of there'spectivecooker-chamber, and is sprayed into the for operating the engine 17, theV pump wlllintroduce the water into the tank gested, the loss being dueprincipally to fricinitially coldatmosphere therein to saturate it. Thisair must be heated to the predatorto hams (or about 180 F.

mined cooking temperatureof about F. for cooki for cooking vegeta les),and to that end the water'is heated in the tank through'the medium of -asteam-coil 21 contained therein,

shown to discharge through a pipe 22, as to a sewer,- and to' receiveits supply of, steam through a pipe 24 leading into it, from the mainsteam-supplyconduit 18, through the" tank-bottom, and containing ashut-oil valve, indicated at 23. For automatically,

controlling the temperature of the water in the tank9, to maintaindesirable uniformity thereof for the cookin purpose, the pipe 24 trolledby. compressed air from a holder 26 a pipe 27 with a source ofair-pressure supply (not shown),

mg into the diap ragm-chamof the pipes 28 and 29with, each other beingcontrolled by a needle-valve device, in-

dicated at 30, operated a thermostat;

25 commuhication indicated at 31, in the upper part of the tan In theemployment of the apparatus thus described for cooking hams by thelow-term perature cooking process hereinbefore referred to, thehams 6are introduced into the cooker through its opened door 7 and piled onthe shelf 5. With the water under pressure in the tank 9 and heated tothe re quired temperature by the steam-heated coil 21, --say. to about150 F.-upon opening a valve 32 in the pifpe 10 the hot water will beshowered in a ne spray into the cooker 1, sup osing that to be the onlycooker in use; he temperature-for thelow-temperature cooking of hams ofabout 140 to 145 F. is that at which the water; 'at 150 1 in.

the tank, will enter the cooker; though the ipe 10 and its branches 5should be insuated to prevent undue cooling of the water in its courseto the cooker-chamber. The hot water which is continuously sprayedinto-the upper end of that chamber, saturates the air therein, heatingit to the deroe required for the low-temperature cookmg and afiording avehicle for carrying the heat-units to and causing them to act uniformlyon the meat. The surplus hot water discharges through theoutlet-pipe 8.i If one or more cookers be, as contemplated, provided jn addition tothe cooker 1, as each is brought into use, the respective valve 13 isopened and kept open until the operation in the added cooker iscompleted. The meat, such as hams 6, when introduced into a chamber 3,is usually quite-cold, and in that condition tends to retard the cookingaction therein of the afar-er heated and saturated air, eachcooker-hasleading into its bottom a valved branch 33 of a steamspipe 34 branchfromthe steam-supply conduit 18,

I whereby live steam may be introduced into the cooker-chamber to warmtheficold meat and quickly'bring'the chamber up to the. cookingtemperature. Furthermore, as each additional cooker is brought intocommie sion, the water from thetank 9 may unless prevented, dischargefaster-than it 'becomes heated to the predetermined ternperaturetforneifecting 'the cooking. The thermostat preventsthat, since if theheat of the tank-water lowers below the prede 5; termined degrce,.:.iifactuat'e's the thermostat I as ethe admission'of steam to the coil-e21for to open the valve 25 farther and increase quickly raisingthe'temperature of the flowing tank-water to that predetermined. Evenwith a single cooker in the system, however,

the thermostat is usefulfin automatically shutting- 01f and opening thevalve 25, as

requ1red, to' maintain a uniform temperature of the cooker-atmosphereheating and saturating water.

It is'to beunderstood that "the essential To avoid such retardation,

features of my im roved apparatusare a cooker-chamber an means forcontinuously introducing water into it infa finelydivided condition, asby spraying, to saturate the'air contained, at normal pressure, in thechamher, and this whether the water bev relimivnarily heated to bothsaturate and, eat the all the novelty there may be in my invention l asbroadly as the state of the art will permit.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. Alow-temperature cooking apparatus, comprising a cooker, means forintroducing continuously, during the cooking operation employing hot airin the, cooking-chamber,

water in a finely divided condition to satu:

rate therewiththe air in said chamber, and means for regulatin thesupply of said water into said cham or to maintain therein during saidoperation a predetermined temperature for the cooking below the boil- I.

ing-point ofwater. I 1 .7

2. A low temperature cooking apparatus,. comprising a cooker, awater-showenngipipe leading into the cooker-chamber,- aiwaterheaterdischargingto .said pipe, means for forcing water into and through saidheater; into the cooker-chamber by way of said pipe continuously duringthe cooking operation, and means for heating the water in said heatenj p3. A low temperature cooking apparatus,- comprising a cooker, a water-sowering'" pipe leadin into, the cooker-chamber, a water-tank dischargingthrou h said pipe into said chamber, means for orclngwater into andthrough said tank into the cookerchamber by way of said pipe, means forheating the water in passing through said tank, and a thermostat-deviceconnected with the tank and controlling the supply of heating medium forthe water.

4. A low temperature cooking apparatus,

y-comprislng a cooker, a water-showering pipe leading into thecooker-chamber, a Watentank discharging-through said pipe into saidchambena water-forcing pump discharging into said tank tofitorce water"theret'hrough into the cooker-chamber by way of said pipe, a heatersaidtank, a vaived steam-pi discharging into the heater for heating thewater water-tank through said tank, and a therinostat said tankconnected with the steam-pipe valve to control the passage of steamtherethrough.

said pipe continuously during the coo 'ing operation, means for heatingthe water in.

said heater, and a valved steamsupply pipe leading into thecooker-chamber.

6. A low temperature cooking apparatus comprising a cooker, awater-showering pipe leadi to the cooker-chamber, a. ischarging throughsaid pipe into said chamber, a water-forcing pump discharging into saidtank to force Water therethrough into the cooker-chamber by way of saidpipe, 3. heating-coil in said tank, a steam-supp] conduit, areducingvalve to'which said conduit dischar a steam-engine communicatingwith sai conduit through the reducing valve, a waterforcing pumpoperated'by' said engine and discharging into said tank to force watertherethrough into the cooker-chamber by way of said pipe, a valvedsteam-pipe discharging into said coil for heatin the water in passingthrough said tank, an 9. them stat in said tank connected with thesteampipe valve to control the passage of steam therethrough.

B. TRESCOTT.

